What do Duchamp, Warhol, and Koons have in common? That’s right, they were all appropriation artists! Appropriation art is an art form that grew in popularity in the second half of the 20th century. Due to its rather controversial nature, appropriation art has often found itself in the courtroom as artists faced copyright infringement lawsuits. Keep reading if you’d like to find out more about the history of appropriation and some of the spiciest lawsuits in the art world!

What is appropriation art? It is an art form practiced by artists who use pre-existing objects or pictures to generate new artworks, with few modifications to the original. The intentional “copying” of an image or object into a new context is often referred to as “re-contextualization”. Artists use re-contextualization as a method to comment on the image or object’s original meaning.

Art appropriation has often been misidentified as unoriginal or theft, with many artists facing allegations of plagiarism. But before we get into that, first, let’s take a look at the history of appropriation art.

History of Appropriation Art

Early 20th century

Appropriation is not as recent as some may think. Drawing its roots back to the early 20th century, it was used by Cubist artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who included in their collages real pieces of newspapers. The practice developed further with the introduction of Marcel Duchamp‘s readymades – artworks made from dull, practical manufactured objects. For instance, Fountain, a signed porcelain urinal, was an icon of 20th century art.

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